Management by Leadership

As managers we are rewarded according to our ability to accomplish our organization’s objectives.

We do this best by helping others feel rewarded as they become part of the pursuit of these objectives. Centuries ago, the Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu said this: “A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: We did it ourselves.” This quote clearly defines our challenge as to how we can be leaders who generate an atmosphere in which our team will produce superior results…results that each team member owns and can be excited about.

Management by Leadership begins by:

1. Knowing each member of the team and knowing them well. Who are they? What do they really want? Then show how their contribution will help them get what they want!

2. Caring about each member of the team. Talking with them daily and listening carefully to what they say and what is important to them. This helps them feel respected and valued in their work. Their work becomes more than a job. It becomes something they really want to do and is an important part of their life.

3. Celebrating their contributions. This will drive each team member to give even more effort to each project because recognition is a master motivator!

4. Never taking any credit for team success even though we may head the team. Each team member should feel that the success attained would not have been possible without their contribution.

Management by Leadership is an all the time attitude and practice that encourages maximum performance from others. It gets everyone involved because they want to be involved. They want to be involved because we, as managers, have helped them to feel respected, valued, and needed. This motivates everyone to give their best to each task, each day. By helping each team member to feel their contribution helped win the day…we win too!

This post brought to you by the good folks at Dale Carnegie Alabama. We would love to connect with you on Facebook!

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This entry was posted on March 26, 2014 at 9:13 pm and is filed under Leadership Development. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.